Tainted Dreams
by Crest of Determination
Summary: When Tagiru suffers injustice at the hands of a close friend, it leads to him mentally and physically breaking down. His assaulter runs loose, using the digital world as a cover. Can Taiki and his friends put an end to his trauma? Contains TaikixTagiru.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey everyone! This is a fanfic I've been wanting to publish for awhile. It's a friendship fic mostly but pairings are obvious. Thanks to __**Black Angel of the Underworld **__for betareading this chapter. Chapter contains references to sexual assault and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. _

**Prologue**

The hospital was quiet with the occasional chatters from nearby doctors and nurses before it faded down the halls. The sky was painted black, leaving only the white moon to stand out in all of its glory; its light luminous and faint, but still there.

Most of the others were asleep in their rooms; however, Akaishi Tagiru lied awake on his bed, staring out the window into the night sky.

It hurt. His touch hurt more than he had imagined. Why did this happen? He couldn't feel anything. Neither the tubes or the presence of his precious person clicked in his dull mind. Reality became nothing more than a hazy dream, a dream from that terrible nightmare.

"Tagiru?" a soft voice asked. "How do you feel?"

"The sound," Tagiru said in a raspy voice. "The sound of the birds. It's nice. Makes the pain go away, less sore."

A pair of warm arms wrapped around him, but it suddenly felt cold, making him flinch. He tried hard not to move away from Taiki's touch, but a small whimper escaped from his lips and he closed his eyes, willing the painful, vivid memories to go away.

_It __isn't __cold,_ he thought to reassure himself. _It __isn't __cold._

However, his touch felt like it would burn off his skin. He trusted these hands, Taiki's hands, soft and warm, unlike the other hands that had stolen everything.

Taiki immediately pulled away, his brow creasing in worry and shame clearly seen in his eyes. "Sorry."

"Loving me hurts you," Tagiru said, shying away. The statement was simple but rang with fear and insecurity.

"That's not true," Taiki whispered.

Loving Tagiru didn't hurt him. It was failing to protect him that hurt. He shouldn't have gone to his cousin's birthday party that night. If he had never left Tagiru, then this would have never happened. The two of them...not even more than a few days had passed since they confessed their feelings.

"What he did hurts," Taiki said quietly. "I'm sorry."

Tagiru pushed Taiki's hand away, his own hand trembling from the brush of their fingers. "You should go before you get stolen, too."

His eyes were hazy, as if he was seeing right through Taiki.

Taiki had to push back tears at the blank expression on the other's face. It was almost like someone had ripped out chunks of Tagiru's soul. His spirit, his fire, his overwhelming courage that made the impossible seem possible was no longer there.

"I'll be back," he promised the other.

Tagiru smiled listlessly. "Don't come back too often. I'll curse you."

Taiki shook his head. "Never. You'd never curse me."

* * *

Taiki left the room and the hospital, walking to his car. Tears that he held back streamed down his cheeks. He wasn't one to cry easily but the feeling of failure cut through him. There was nothing he could do. No matter what he said, no matter what he did, nothing seemed to reach Tagiru. It was like he wasn't even there anymore.

Taiki took a bottle of water from the back seat and drank all of it, trying to calm himself down. Blood pounded in his ears. He wanted to find that bastard and wring his neck. How? How could someone be so morally depraved?

He exhaled through his nose, taking a few deep breaths to relax himself a little bit before beginning to drive albeit slowly. Right now, he didn't know where he should go but knew he didn't want to go home. He decided to head to Yuu's house.

He knocked on the door and waited for the other, running a hand through his hair. After a few minutes, the door opened to reveal a groggy Yuu.

"Taiki-san?" Yuu said, blinking.

"Sorry for disturbing you at this ungodly hour," Taiki muttered, "but I needed someone to talk to. Didn't want to go home right now."

Yuu rubbed his eyes and gave a sad smile. "You've just come from seeing Tagiru, haven't you?"

Taiki laughed, although it was choked with tears. "Am I that obvious?" He tried to keep his tone light, but it cracked in the end.

Yuu noticed this and pulled Taiki into a hug. "Oh, Taiki-san. Come on in. Did you have dinner yet?"

Taiki didn't respond to the hug. He didn't want the comfort. He didn't need it. Tagiru was the one who was broken, not him.

He didn't mean to, but he pushed Yuu off of him gently.

"Tagiru needs that more than I do," Taiki said quietly. "And how can I eat? Tagiru can barely eat two bites without throwing it all up. You guys all stopped visiting him, too."

Yuu squirmed as Taiki mentioned that he or the others hadn't visited Tagiru lately.

"I don't know what to do," Yuu said, his voice hesitant. "Seeing him like that scares me."

"It scares me, too," Taiki said. "But he's hurt, Yuu. It's like there's nothing inside him anymore. I miss the spark in his eyes. He's just so empty."

Yuu didn't speak for a moment. He had things he wanted to say but words didn't come to him. None that he could say without thinking at least. He rephrased words in his head before saying the best thing he could think of.

"Does he ask about us?" Yuu said.

Taiki sighed. "If only. He has questions in his eyes though, about why this happened to him. He wants to ask about you but I think he's scared. He had his trust betrayed once. He doesn't want it to happen again."

Yuu nodded. He could understand. "It's not your fault, you know." There was uncertainty in his voice.

Taiki gave a bitter smile. "You sound like Akari now."

"It's not," Yuu said, his voice now much more confident. "Taiki-san, you couldn't have known. Tagiru couldn't have known. How were we supposed to know he'd do this? To Tagiru of all people? He seemed okay with your relationship even if it did seem he had a crush on Tagiru. We didn't think he'd..."

"He wanted us to think that," Taiki said, his voice suddenly distant. "He wanted me to think that he was happy for Tagiru so we'd let our guards down. I think he knew how possessive I would have been otherwise. How can you say it's not my fault, Yuu?" His voice was filled with self-loathing and self-blame. "If I hadn't gone to that party, if I had kept a closer eye on Tagiru, if I had been there, I would have chopped that guy's hands off the moment he tried to lay a hand on Tagiru."

His whole body shook; whether it was from fury or self-loathing, it was hard to tell. His fingers trembled and itched to wrap his hands around the assaulter's throat.

Rage boiled in his veins as the bastard's face appeared in his head. He was tempted to just reach out and rip him into shreds. Red seeped into his vision and, for a second, he thought that he would kill Yuu instead until Tagiru's empty face entered his mind.

He went slack for a moment, Tagiru's lifeless eyes staring back at him almost mockingly. His lips moved but no words came out; however, he knew what he was saying.

_Why didn't you save me?_

"Taiki-san," Yuu said. He shook his head but didn't protest. "I'm going to get you something to eat." He made his way to the kitchen.

"Yuu?" Taiki said, causing Yuu to stop for a minute and turn.

"Yeah?" Yuu asked, curious.

"Could you make something for Tagiru, too?" Taiki said almost meekly. "Something that might...that might remind him of the good things in his life?"

"Taiki-san..." Yuu murmured.

"There has to be way," Taiki said. "There has to be some way to bring him back to us. There has to be a way to make him remember how things were before. I know it's an odd request but..."

His hands clenched into fists by his side.

Yuu smiled. "You sound like Tagiru. He always believed there would be a way, too, even when everything seemed hopeless. Don't worry. I'll make something, okay? You just relax, Taiki-san. And..." He paused for a minute. "I'll come with you to see Tagiru next time."

Taiki smiled at that. "Thanks, Yuu."


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello, everyone! Thanks for all the feedback! Oh and loads of thanks to _**Black Angel of the Underworld **_for betareading this chapter!_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Taiki had spent the night at Yuu's house, mentally and emotionally exhausted. He headed outside of his room to see Yuu preparing breakfast.

"Morning," Taiki said, although a yawn cut him off and Yuu laughed.

"If only Tagiru could see you like this," Yuu teased. "He'd recover right away."

Taiki blushed and it crept down to his neck.

"Oh, shut up," Taiki muttered. "Thanks for letting me spend the night." His eyes darkened. "I wonder if Tagiru slept at all."

"Taiki-san..." Yuu said, pausing in his cooking. His hand tightened around a spoon. He felt so useless. His two closest friends were in so much pain and all he could offer were words. Words that would do absolutely nothing to heal Tagiru or take away what had happened. Gosh, if there were some magical way to turn back time, he'd do it in an instant.

He reached out and squeezed Taiki's shoulder. "Come on, let's have breakfast and then we'll go see him, okay?"

Taiki exhaled through his nose before nodding and sitting down at the table.

The two of them ate breakfast in silence. Taiki's thoughts were on Tagiru and Yuu couldn't find the strength to speak. The clinking of their spoons were the only sounds made as they scraped their plates. After eating, Yuu quickly washed the dishes, finding that his hands were slightly trembling and almost dropped a plate. They got dressed and headed to the car.

Before Taiki could start driving, however, his phone started to ring. He frowned as he answered it.

"Hello?"

"Kudou Taiki?" the voice on the other end asked. "This is Officer Akiko speaking."

"Ah, Akiko-san," Taiki said. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm afraid not, Kudou-san. Mashimo Hideaki broke out of jail."

Taiki tensed, his hands getting sweaty, and the vein in his eyebrow nearly popped out of his skin. His hands began shaking so much that he felt as if he would drop the phone.

Yuu frowned, putting his own hands on Taiki's and looked him in the eyes, trying to assure him despite not knowing what was going on.

Taiki finally managed to get himself to stop shaking and to calm himself down.

"H-how?" Taiki asked through gritted teeth.

There was a pause on the other end. "You see, the situation is a bit complicated. Some creature was with him, a pet dog, I think. It appeared out of nowhere and the two of them disappeared. Do you think you could come to the police station this afternoon?"

Taiki bristled as his hand clenched his phone. How could they? Tagiru's pain, his shuddering the time he had found him at Yuu's house, the time he had gotten the news...he still remembered Nene's phone call even though it had been a month ago.

* * *

_Taiki handed Miko, his four-year-old cousin, the gift he had with a smile. "It's the latest Barbie model. I hope you'll like it."_

_"Thanks, Taiki-shan!" Miko piped happily, opening her present as the phone rang; her mother went to answer it._

_Mrs. Yumehera came back with the phone, handing it to her nephew. "Taiki, it's for you. It's Nene-chan." _

_Taiki frowned, suddenly a little anxious. "Nene?" He wondered what could be so urgent that she had to call the house phone. He knew his phone discharged but..._

_Shaking away these thoughts, he took the phone. "Nene? Is everything alright?"_

_"T-Taiki-kun..." Nene's stuttering voice came from the other end. "C-can you come over?"_

_Taiki could instantly tell something was wrong. He tried to keep his worry aside to focus on understanding what happened._

_"Okay, I'll be there soon," he said. "But tell me what happened."_

_"T-Taiki-kun, it's Tagiru-kun," Nene said in a shaky voice; Taiki's grip on the phone suddenly tightened._

_He and Tagiru had confessed their feelings the other night on Tagiru's birthday and even kissed under the stars. They held hands and talked about the future, laughing about things that they didn't even know they would have. Tagiru even admitted nervously that he had never been in a relationship before._

_"W-what? What happened?"_

_"Hideaki-kun invited him over to spend some time together," Nene said. "Tagiru-kun agreed and left but..." She let out a choked sob and it took her awhile to get it together. Taiki stiffened, fearing the worst. "Yuu and I weren't there but, from Tagiru-kun's explanation, we're certain that...Hideaki-kun drugged...and raped him."_

_Taiki had gone deathly silent. He felt as if someone crushed his windpipe. He had to remind himself a few times to breathe, to calm down, and even that didn't work all that well._

_"Taiki-kun?" Nene said._

_Taiki didn't reply. He didn't think he could. Not yet._

_Tagiru...oh, god, not him, please not him. He was so innocent; he probably didn't even understand what Hideaki had done to him. He was probably still in shock. He had to go. He had to go to Tagiru, to hold him, to make sure he was alright._

_The other had never been in a relationship before, never been kissed before him nor been touched in that way. Did Hideaki even care that it was Tagiru's first time?_

_Obviously not. He hadn't even cared for Tagiru's consent. He bristled at the thought, smashing a fist against the table._

_Tears began to cascade down Taiki's cheeks. He failed to protect the person he loved. If he hadn't come to this party then..._

_"Dammit, Hideaki..." Taiki muttered. "How could you do this to him?" His hand clenched into a fist. "You bastard."_

_"Taiki-kun..." Nene murmured._

_"Taiki-shan..." Miko said, hugging her cousin around the waist._

_Having his cousin's comfort made him feel slightly better; at least, enough to talk again._

_"Where are you guys?" Taiki said, his voice firmer._

_"At the hospital," Nene said, giving the name of it._

_Taiki grabbed his car keys. "I'm on my way."_

_He hung up and turned to Miko, holding her close. "I'm sorry, Miko-chan. I have to leave early." He shut his eyes, trying to stop the tears. "Someone really close to me got hurt. I have to go."_

_Miko smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. "Go, Taiki-shan! Go save your girlfriend!"_

_Taiki smiled, hugging her once more before leaving. He made it to the hospital, managing to get the nurse to let him inside the hospital room. Seeing Tagiru curled up into a ball made his breath catch in his throat._

_He stepped forward almost tentatively. "T-Tagiru?"_

_Tagiru flinched at his name being called. "Please don't come closer."_

_His voice was meek, his arms wrapped tightly around himself for desperate comfort._

* * *

Just remembering that day made Taiki tremble and clench his fists.

"I have to see Tagiru first," Taiki said, hanging up the phone and looking down.

"Taiki-san?" Yuu said, worried.

"Hideaki escaped," Taiki said before Yuu could ask any questions. "Said he had a pet dog with him and they disappeared. The police couldn't do anything."

Yuu frowned, his eyes darkening. "Dobermon? Is that possible?"

"I wouldn't think so; Tagiru told me the guy doesn't have any pets. So I'm guessing it is. We need to get to Tagiru. I can't leave him alone for one minute knowing that bastard is out of jail."

It wasn't like him to curse so much but he this was Tagiru. He was all for giving people chances, but there was no reasonable explanation for what Hideaki had done.

Yuu nodded. "Do you want me to drive?"

Taiki shot Yuu a grateful smile before they switched seats.

Once the two arrived at the hospital, it was an absolute mess. Dead bodies were lying everywhere, blood seeping from their large, gaping wounds. Various equipments were clustered on the ground everywhere.

"What happened here?" Taiki asked, alarmed.

The receptionist was trembling viciously, her eyes wide in pure terror. Her mouth moved up and down silently as she tried to form words, but she only let out a helpless cry, falling onto her knees in a puddle of blood.

Yuu rushed forward and helped her up. "It's okay - " He glanced at her name tag. " - Enma-san. Everything's going to be okay. Shh, don't worry."

She stared blankly at her shaking hands and let out a shaky breath. "A - A man came in with an army of monsters." She buried her face into her hands. "He took Akaishi Tagiru-kun with him. T-The police are coming. Yes, they're coming. Everything will be okay. The police are coming."

She continued to mumble to herself, her eyes vacant.

"What?" Yuu cried. "God, hasn't he been through enough?"

"I can't believe he'd use the Digimon like this," Taiki said. He was surprised how calm he was but, if he panicked now, nothing would get done. "Yuu, where's Nene at now?"

"She's out checking for flights to Hong Kong," Yuu said, surprised at the sudden question. "Why?"

"Call her," Taiki said. "Tell her to bring Kiriha along, too. I'll call Akari and Zenjirou."

"Taiki-san, what..." Yuu said, staring at his mentor as if he had lost his mind. "We should be searching for Tagiru. He's probably terrified. He's still not recovered from last time and, if Hideaki tries that again, it might kill him."

Taiki exhaled through his nose. He knew it didn't make sense to Yuu, but this was the only way.

"And if we rush in without a plan, he could threaten us and coerce Tagiru to submit to him," he said. "If he has an army on his side, we'll need an army to fight back. I need Shoutmon's help on this. I failed Tagiru once. I won't fail him again."

"Taiki-san..." Yuu's eyes dawned in understanding and he nodded, pulling out his phone to call his sister.


End file.
